See That Red
by SunMoonAndSpoon
Summary: [Magical Pokemon JourneyPipipi Adventure] Pistachio finally gets Hazel to agree to a date with him, and it's going wonderfully until Peanut calls needing his help. Is he willing to leave her to go to him?


Nana: Well this was a completely random desire on my part—I left the Magical Pokemon Journey fandom over four years ago. I'm not sure if the fandom even exists anymore. But I just got this random fic idea, so I thought I'd share. I do apologize for anything OOC…I tried my best, but since I read the series in the back room of NYC's Pokemon Center (Now Nintendo Center) when my mom used to work there, I don't have any source material. It's been a while, so I may have misremembered some things. Bear with me!

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See That Red

by SunMoonAndSpoon

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Hazel finally agreed to a date with Pistachio. He'd more or less given up hope by this point, sure that at best she saw not-Almond, at worst a dirty old man. Upon coming to this conclusion, he decided he'd try once more and then give up, find a girl his own age and seduce her to the point where the mere thought of him would make her come in her pants—he got ahead of himself, there. In any case, the plan was to be rejected and then move on.

But she said yes. Perhaps out of boredom, perhaps to spite Almond, perhaps out of genuine attraction, whatever it was, Hazel said yes. He's been planning a date for months, and while some of it isn't seasonally appropriate—ice skating is more or less impossible during the summer—it's a dazzling plan all in all. It's not tailored to her, it's applicable to everyone with two X chromosomes, but he did delete the sex part. That would be against several laws.

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Night arrives and he picks her up a block or so from her home, not wishing to alarm her relatives. He's a good deal older than Hazel, and while he is of the opinion that age means little, he knows that not everyone shares his enlightened ideas. She isn't dressed up, Pikachu and Clefairy are trailing after her and she clearly hasn't brushed her teeth, but she showed. Pistachio's wearing a suit and bearing flowers, because atmosphere is crucial, he wants at least a kiss out of this kid. She doesn't care and she's crossing her arms, saying she needs to be home by nine and that this better be good, she's bitter. That's okay. He'll win her over. "These are for you, Princess," he says, handing over the massive bouquet.

"You just got those from your store," she sniffs, accepting them all the same. She'd have been drooling over the most wilted weeds if they were from Almond, it's clear she doesn't want to be here. Why she accepted is beyond him, perhaps she thinks she can whip Almond into a jealous rage?

"I did," he says, "and that's why they're as beautiful as you are. Anyway, we must be going. I've gotten us a table at a rather popular restaurant—they'll drop our reservation if we don't get there quickly."

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They arrive, Hazel standing out in her non-formal attire. They are seated after several minutes spent complaining about the wait, and Pistachio ignores the menu in attempts to make conversation. He makes constant references to their surroundings, asks if she doesn't _adore _the waiter's outfits, or the Magikarp fountain outside. It's only when he gets to the fountain bit that Hazel quits fiddling with her napkin and responds to him at all. "Do you think there are any Magikarp in that thing that might turn into Gyrados soon? Because that's something I could give to Alm—" she stops, twister her napkin and blushes. "I'm supposed to be catching Pokemon for Grandpa. Magikarp are pretty lame, though. I mean they can't even _do _anything, and it's not like they're cute. We probably wouldn't be allowed to catch them anyway." Hazel sighs then, and Pistachio smiles, agrees whole-heartedly that aesthetics are important in a Pokemon.

"Personally, I think grass types are the most spectacular. As you know I've got a bit of an obsession with flowers and the like, there's nothing more beautiful than a perfectly arranged bouquet, so yes, _plant Pokemon—_" And then he stops, Pikachu under the table has bitten his leg. Hazel is giggling.

"I don't think Pikachu and Clefairy like that," she says, peering under the table and waving. Pistachio waves too, despite the pain the rat has caused him, and says that while he stands by his original statement, he can make an exception for creatures as cute as themselves. Satisfied, Pikachu and Clefairy go back to their somewhat perilous game of 'pull-the-tablecloth'. Hazel laughs again, "you're funny" she says, and he blushes. He'd thought he was being schmaltzy and ridiculous, but whatever floats her boat. He seems to be making a good impression.

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The meal is well underway, and they've yet to lapse into awkward silence. They have gleefully shit-talked every mutual acquaintance save for Almond, and right now she's ranting about her creepy, irritating grandfather. For some reason, his short stature is a personal affront to her, she's waving her fork around as if to stab the man, and Pistachio finds this hysterical. He senses he'll get sick of this as time goes on, but he also knows that he'd better enjoy this while it lasts, because he won't be getting any more. This will be a single, fabulous evening where he will pretend to be a gentleman, where he will father her instead of sex her up like he normally would on a date.

His phone rings just as he's about to pop a piece of steak into his mouth. He examines it, considers whether the person on the other line is worth interrupting Hazel. She goes silent, deciding for him. He picks up the phone.

The number is unfamiliar, a payphone call, so he's surprised when it turns out to be his brother. That kid was told to always have his cell on him! "Pistachio…" he whimpers, "do you think you could come pick me up…?"

"Why?" he asks, "where are you?" and Peanut doesn't answer right away. He instead succumbs to a coughing fit, drains the minutes on Pistachio's phone. He must focus on this, tune our other thoughts—_what if he's coughing blood, can his heart take this, what if he dies?!—_and avoid panicking. He asks him again where he is.

"Um…I w-went…out to the f-fields with Ch-charmander for…some tr-training. I'm…m-my cellphone doesn't get…r-reception h-h-here…so I found a payphone…um…" He trails off, coughs a bit, and Pistachio tries to coax an address out of him.

"Why do you need me to come get you?" Pistachio doesn't need to ask, the knowledge has already sunk into his gut. There is always something wrong with Peanut. He wouldn't call him if it weren't serious. He must be shaking with fever, too weak to walk or breathe, he'd have close to death to call him. And Peanut confirms it, says he's sick and coughs more.

"I'm s-sorry, I just, I just d-don't think I can make it home…too f-far…to walk…Charmander said…" Pistachio quiets him, says that he shouldn't try too hard to speak.

"Don't worry about it," he says quietly, "of course I'll come get you. Just give me directions and I'll be right there." It takes a lot more time and a lot more coughing, but he finally manages to wring some sense-making instructions out of him. He hangs up the phone without hesitation, tells Hazel that it's time for him to go. "Sorry," he says, shelling out the cash to pay for dinner, "it's an emergency. If you could just pay and…well can you get home by yourself? I know it's late, but you can take the bus across the street, and it isn't too far." Before she can respond he gives her a quick peck on the cheek and dashes out without another word.

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It is only when he's six blocks away and has to stop the car for a pedestrian that he realizes just what happened. Without thinking it through, Pistachio abandoned what would in all likelihood be his only date with Hazel. Gorgeous, adorable, hilarious Hazel, ditched like garbage for _Peanut. _He wouldn't have done that if he'd thought it through. Peanut isn't more important than Hazel. He's a wimpy little pain in the ass, all he's ever done is hold him back, and god _damn _it he hopes that kid's okay. He drives faster.

Somehow, he reaches the field without crashing the car. Somehow, he heads for Peanut's slumped over, shivering self without screaming. He stays composed when he sees him, tries not to let his brother know he's scared for him. That would be embarrassing, and it would cause unnecessary panic. He's spitting blood, his face is pale as a shell and getting up seems utterly beyond him. As soon as Pistachio sees that red all thoughts of Hazel disappear, he scoops his brother up and heads for the car, Charmander stomping behind him. Peanut needs the hospital, _now, _and all Pistachio can think is how glad he is that he arrived in time to get him there.

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Nana: Well, I hope you all enjoyed that. I certainly enjoyed writing it—this was one of the most non-agonizing writing projects I've taken on in a while. I guess because it was mostly a distraction from my longer fics. Anyway, please leave me a review, and have a nice day!


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